Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-2 overtime loss against the Detroit Red Wings in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
B’s gutting out points despite slew of injuries: Are you a glass-half-empty or a glass-half-full kind of person? Depending on your viewpoint, the Bruins’ four-game, nine-day road trip was a squandered chance to stay afloat in the uber-competitive Atlantic Division — with Boston only clinching four of a possible eight points on the jaunt out west. Or perhaps, given the number of injuries to Boston’s blue line and Patrice Bergeron, securing points in three of four games is a victory in and of itself — a sign of this club’s resiliency despite rolling out a lineup teeming with AHL talent and seemingly nonstop lineup shuffling.
For now, Boston should at least take the positives out of not completely capsizing following the losses of Bergeron and Zdeno Chara. But the Black and Gold are going to need players like Brandon Carlo, Charlie McAvoy and John Moore to get back into the fold soon, because eking one win over teams like Arizona and one-point outings against Dallas are not going to come against teams on the horizon like the Maple Leafs.
Bruins survive another injury scare: On a night in which Kevan Miller finally returned from a 13-game absence, the Black and Gold still went through what seems like a daily injury scare, with Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson missing close to 15 minutes of ice time after taking a puck to the face. Forsbacka Karlsson, who scored his second goal of the season just minutes before a shot from Dylan Larkin bounced off his stick and into his face, missed most of the second half of the middle stanza before returning with five minutes eclipsed in the third.
Forsbacka Karlsson will sport a couple of stitches for the next couple of days, but it’s a rare break for the Bruins given their lack of bodies at the pivot as of late.
THREE UP
Tuukka Rask:
At first glance, 24 saves on 27 shots seems rather pedestrian, but Rask bailed out the Black and Gold time and time again, with the Red Wings actually leading the Bruins in scoring chances, 25-19, despite firing nine fewer shots on net.
Given the state of Boston’s roster, Rask and
Jaroslav Halak
are going to be put on the spot early and often over the next couple of weeks.
Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson:
Even without Wednesday’s injury, Forsbacka Karlsson hasn’t earned plenty of minutes since his recall, but the BU product is making the most of his opportunity — scoring his second goal in as many games.
It wasn’t pretty, but the pivot cashed in on a fracas in front of the Red Wings’ net, potting the loose puck past
Jimmy Howard
after
Jake DeBrusk’s
initial attempt was stopped. While Forsbacka Karlsson put Boston on the board, he only logged 9:25 of ice time with a couple of key losses at the dot.
Chris Wagner:
Wagner finally got the monkey off of his back in Wednesday’s matchup, scoring his first goal since Oct. 8 off of a strong shift from the Kuraly line. Wagner himself started the scoring bid after deflecting a feed from
Kyle Dekeyser
along the boards, allowing
Sean Kuraly
to recover the puck behind the Red Wings’ net.
THREE DOWN
Jakub Zboril:
Zboril didn’t suit up in Wednesday’s matchup, but the 21-year-old defenseman does get knocked down a peg after getting sent back down to Providence midway through the contest.
Like it or not, Zboril is always going to be tied to his status as a first-round pick, and while it’s tough to judge any player off of a two-game sample, it became clear that the Bruins didn’t trust the young blue liner (10:56 average TOI) nearly as much as fellow rookies in
Jeremy Lauzon
(over 23:00 avg. TOI in last four games) and
Connor Clifton
(19:28 avg. TOI).
Zboril still has plenty of potential, but it became clear very quickly that the young defenseman still needs some seasoning down in Providence.
Steven Kampfer:
On a Bruins D corps with just two of its opening night starters in the lineup, it’s to be expected that for a couple of miscues on a blue line with plenty of unproven players.
But on Wednesday, it was not a rookie like Lauzon or Clifton that was caught in a tough spot, as a risky pinch by Kampfer allowed the Red Wings to counter with a 2-on-1 rush — leading to
Andreas Athanasiou’s
game-tying score just
2:14 after Wagner’s go-ahead score. That’s a backbreaker.
Torey Krug/Brad Marchand:
Both skaters deserve a knock for their play in the closing seconds of overtime, as
Athanasiou managed to win a 2-on-1 puck battle between the two in the slot, eventually firing the puck past Rask seconds later for the win. Another frustrating end for the Bruins, who drop to 1-4 on the season in overtime.
PLAY OF THE GAME:
LOOKING AHEAD
After closing out their four-game, nine-day road trip, the Bruins will return home for one game — a tilt against the Penguins on Black Friday. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m., while the Bruins will then head up to Montreal for the second leg of a back-to-back slate on Saturday.
